Venturing Out
by dawnmarie dreaming
Summary: Bella is painfully antisocial except with her family and friends. Will the Cullens moving in across the street bring her out of her shell or chase her further into the haven that is Jasper's arms? Be gentle, my first fic. Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1 Moving Day

**Chapter 1 – Moving Day**

**_Bella_**

I was enjoying a really good dream about a perfect sunny day. I was lying on my stomach on the grass, the sun beating down on me, my body impossibly warm, glowing. That was it, just me and the sun. This may not seem that exciting a dream to most people, but with the small amount of sun we get in Forks, WA, any sun was a dream come true. All too soon, I was disturbed by the feeling of something crawling across the back of my neck. I made a small noise of discontent and swatted gently at it. I settled back in, burrowing my face in the incredibly soft and cushiony grass. I had just started to relax when I felt the crawling across my neck again. My groan got louder; my swat got sharper. After the third time, I practically snarled and heard someone gently saying my name.

"Bell-bottom."

"Ugh," I responded, intelligently.

"Bell-bottom trousers, wake up." I felt the crawling across my neck again and shivered.

"Go away."

"Come on, sleepy head. It's a beautiful day. Come enjoy it."

"Fuck off."

"That's not very nice, Bella."

"Fine. Please fuck off." But I had started to grin a little.

"I see that smile, little one. I win." And I felt his hands pulling the elastic from the end of my braid and gently untwining it. I smiled wider, and when the braid was undone, and he simply ran his fingers through my hair softly, I hummed in contentment.

"I was having such a nice dream. I was lying outside, and the sun was shining and it was so warm. Hmmm."

"Open your eyes, doll face. It wasn't a dream." My eyes popped open, and I flipped my head over to look out the window, but immediately had to squint my eyes from the bright ray of sunshine blasting through my window. "Oh!" I exclaimed happily and looked up at Jasper staring down at me. His hair was damp and curling haphazardly around his face and his brilliant blue eyes were sparkling. Definitely bright-eyed and bushy tailed. He must have been up for awhile.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"A little after 7."

I popped up in the bed and glared at him. "What the fuck, Jazz! It's summer. There is absolutely no reason to be up at this ridiculous hour. Go away and come back in two hours." I flopped back down, only to pop back up onto my elbows and say, "Make that three hours." I let my head drop back down to the pillow and tried to ignore him. I felt him shift on the bed, and had a moment to hope that he might be leaving me alone before I felt him running his fingertips along the bottom of my feet.

"Absolutely not, hummingbird. We are going to enjoy this glorious day, starting now, because who knows how long it might last."

"You're wasting your time Jasper. You know my feet aren't ticklish. Admit defeat and go away."

"Well, had that been my only strategy, maybe." And I suddenly felt him suck the big toe of my left foot into his mouth.

"Ahhh!" I screamed as I jumped out of bed. "Grotesque, Jasper!" I furiously rubbed my toe on the carpet, trying to remove the feel of his tongue wrapped around it. I knew I looked as disgusted as I felt, because my mouth was puckered and my nose all wrinkled up. I was so not a foot fetish kind of girl. Feet are fine. I liked to look at them, especially well-shaped ones. But there's a reason why feet are way at the bottom of your body and mouths are way at the top. Even God knew those two body parts should never come in contact.

Jasper was looking up at me, smiling innocently. "Oh good, you're up. I'll go make you some toast. See you in a bit." And he popped up, planted a light peck on my forehead and sauntered out of the room.

I looked down longingly at my bed and groaned. In reality, I could deny Jasper nothing, but shit. I hate mornings. I love sleep. And there is nothing like sleeping in a ray of sun. I sighed. So much for that. If I was lucky, the sun would last into the afternoon and I could trick Jazz into taking a quick nap in the hammock out back. I made a quick trip into the bathroom to pee and run a quick brush through my hair, then pulled it back into a sloppy bun at the back on my neck. I went back into my room and pulled on a pair of cut-off jeans and a T-shirt I had stolen from Jasper long enough ago that it was now the perfect size for me. Come to think of it, as I looked down at my shorts, I realized I had stolen the jeans from Jazz too, before chopping off the legs. In my defense, I had waited until he outgrew them. I grinned and shook my head at myself, slipped on my flip-flops, and skipped down the stairs.

I actually made it to the second-to-the bottom stair before I stepped on the back of my right flip-flop with my left foot and ended up flying forward off the remaining steps and into the wall.

"You okay?" Jasper called from the kitchen, sounding fairly unconcerned. He'd been around me long enough to recognize a major catastrophe by sound alone.

"Fine, fine." I responded, as I righted myself and continued more cautiously into the kitchen.

Jasper was just putting butter on my toast. He set it in front of me as I sat down at the kitchen table, then filled a glass with OJ and gave that to me too.

"Ahh." I said as I took a long drink. "Just like drinking liquid sunshine. Thanks, Master Jasper."

"Your very welcome, my lady."

"So, what exactly is the plan, this fine _early_ morning?"

"Well, I thought we could pick a nice spot in the front lawn where we could pretend to be reading while really spying on the new neighbors across the street."

"Ooh! Are they here?" And I jumped out of my seat, to peak out the kitchen window. I could see a moving van pulled into the driveway of the big house across the street, and some moving men working at the back. "What time did they show up?"

"Well hummingbird, I noticed a couple of cars parked over there this morning when I woke up to see the sunrise during my run at 0600. You may not be familiar with either of those terms, as you have never experienced either in a semi-conscious state." I tossed a bit of crust at him, which he didn't even bother to dodge, since it missed him by at least three feet. "The moving van didn't show up until right before I headed over here to see your beautiful, smiling face."

"First of all, I have experienced both sunrise as well as 0600 multiple times, which you should know since all of them have been with you. However, they have all been after we've been up all night. Sunrise and early morning hours are fine if they occur before you've been asleep. Should sleeping commence prior to that time, it should continue until at least late morning or early afternoon during summer break. Secondly, my face is never beautiful, no matter the time, but it is certainly not beautiful or smiling before I've even managed to empty my nighttime bladder."

"Oh Beauty. How you underestimate yourself. Now, do you think we'll be too obvious just reading on the front lawn at 7 a.m.?"

"Probably. But, there's never sun here. We can put on our swimsuits and ogle the newbies under the guise of sunbathing."

"Lovely plan, oh pale one. However, make sure you grab the SPF 50. I don't want to be up all night rubbing aloe on you and blowing across your skin while you piss and moan. Again."

"Shut up." I popped the last bit of toast in my mouth and downed the last gulp of orange juice. "I'll bring the water bottles and blanket. You bring the music. We'll meat on the lawn in 5 minutes." I got up, put my dishes in the sink and hurried out of the room.

"Slow down Bella!" Jasper hollered from the kitchen, just as my foot slid out from under me and I barely managed to keep myself from landing on my ass. "It'll be hard to spy on the neighbors from the E.R. Although, come to think of it, we might get more scoop there. Momma heard that the distinguished gentleman from across the street is the new E.R. supervisor."

"Really?" I looked back to see him leaning in the kitchen doorway looking lanky and entirely too gorgeous, his tall frame dwarfing the opening. "We'll be getting to know him really well, then."

He grinned. "My thoughts exactly, hummingbird."

"Go away. I promise to make it up to my room and back without suffering serious injury."

"Good luck with that." He winked and smirked when I flipped him off, then sauntered out the door. Jasper was the king of sauntering. It was a combination of his long, graceful limbs and his calm, laid back manner. I liked to say it was the natural cowboy in him. Jasper's family had moved to Forks from Texas when we were seven years old, and we'd been closer than best friends since the moment we met. He was literally the boy next door, which was convenient, if a little cliché. His step-sister, Rosalie, was the same age as us, and we were friendly, but not like Jazz and I. Something between us just clicked. He was like a part of myself I hadn't realized was missing until the first time I heard his gently drawled, "Howdy" on the playground of the elementary school.

I shook my head and continued on upstairs, feeling real excitement. It wasn't often that anything changed in Forks. This was the first new family to move into town since the Whitlock-Hale bunch had shown up next door 9 years ago. I was eager to catch my first glimpse of the family, especially now that I knew he was the new E.R. doc. I grinned as I stumbled on the way up the stairs. I hadn't been exaggerating when I said I'd get to know him really well.

An hour later found us camped out on the lawn in front of my house. I had on a bikini that Rose had bought for me. It was quite modest, for a bikini, especially one picked out by Rose, but it still left me feeling exposed. I came out with a shirt over it that reached my knees and didn't remove it until I was down on the blanket and as invisible as I was going to get. I was thankful that living in Forks had kept me from ever having to make up an excuse for Rosalie as to why I never wore it in public.

Jasper was sprawled out on his stomach, propped up on his elbows, a book lying open in front of him. I was sitting up, my sketchbook lying on top of the knees I had pulled up to my chest. I was absentmindedly working on a sketch of Jasper's feet, which he had displayed up in the air above his back.

I saw movement to the left out of the corner of my eye and glanced up to see Rose coming towards us. If Jasper saunters, Rosalie struts. She was decked out in an itty bitty white bikini that wasn't more than four triangular scraps of material attached by strings. She had thong sandals on with a 2 inch heel, and big Jackie Kennedy-Onassis glasses covering her eyes. Her hair was swept up on the top of her head in a knot that managed to look both perfect and effortless. She looked amazing, as usual.

She was truly poetry in motion. Her hips swayed gently from side to side in a way that forced your eyes to the center of her body so you couldn't help but notice her hourglass shape. My breasts are good size. Not huge by any means, but a respectable C-cup, anyway. But sitting next to Rose makes me look prepubescent. The swell of those shapely globes then give way to the impossibly tiny pinch of her waist, only to swell back out into rounded hips. Once you focused on her hips, your eyes were pulled down the long expanse of her bare legs, the calves perfectly displayed by the heels of her shoes. Rose is 5'11" plus whatever size heels she chooses for the day. Jasper is about 6'2". Walking along next to them makes me feel like a damn midget at 5'3". It was obvious from childhood that they would be long and lean and I would not be, though until recently I had held onto hope for a late growth spurt. Their nickname of "little one" for me developed long before they had any right to assume that I'd be a shrimp, if you ask me.

Rose sank down beside me on the blanket in a move so smooth it seemed unreal. One moment she was standing there, and the next second she had melted down into a pose worthy of any swimsuit model, her elbows behind her, propping up her chest and displaying her "assets," one leg stretched out in front and the other bent at the knee. It was easy to see why girls hated Rosalie, but in her defense, she didn't do it on purpose. She wasn't unaware of her beauty or it's affect on others, but she didn't consciously exploit it in her movements. Her grace and sexuality came as natural to her as my inability to make it three feet without stumbling came to me.

"So," she said, tilting her glasses down and peering at me over the top of them, "What scoop have you two oh-so-nonchalant spies been able to gather so far?"

I looked at her innocently and responded, predictably, "I have no idea to what you are referring. We are simply enjoying the sun. However, while doing so, we couldn't help but notice the new family moving in across the street."

"Uh-huh. And?"

"Well, so far, we seem to have a family of 5. We saw the mother first. She seems nice. And beautiful. And poised. She popped out for awhile earlier to oversee the movers. Then we saw what we thought was her husband."

"What you thought was her husband?"

"Yeah. Giant of a man. I mean, giant. At least 6'4". Built like a linebacker. Short dark hair, either really thick or he's trying to control some serious curl with the short cut."

"And how did you deduce that he wasn't the father?"

"Well, the next guy who came out actually put his arms around Mom and planted a really non-PG smooch on her. Goliath responded with a horrible retching sound and ran from them. Could only be a son, with that reaction. I mean that kiss was actually very sweet, regardless of the participants being over 30 and using tongue."

"So that accounts for mamma, papa, and bouncing baby boy. Who are the other two?"

"Well, there's also baby sister. Tiny little thing with spiky hair as dark as Goliath's. She looks maybe 12, 13 at the most. And she bounced around like she suffers from ADHD and is in serious need of medication. She was jabbering and flailing her arms and barking orders at the movers like a little general. It was actually pretty funny. Then there's Ted."

"Ted?"

"The other brother."

"You learned his name already? Bella, I'm surprised by you. Maybe there's a chance of you coming out of that catatonic anti-social disorder of yours yet."

I stuck my tongue out at her and Jasper glanced up from his book to join the conversation. "Don't be ridiculous, Rosebud. Bella has not introduced herself to perfect strangers. No need to fear Armageddon just yet."

At that I slapped him hard on his ass. He just chuckled and ignored me. "She means 'Ted' as in Ted Bundy."

Rose gave me a look that clearly said "explain."

"It's just something about him. He seems all dark and brooding, even from a distance. He looks about our age, normal enough appearance, I guess." And with that I shrugged, not really sure I could explain what I meant.

"If he looks normal, why pattern him after a serial killer? Lots of kids our age are dark and brooding. I mean have I ever told you the story about a pot and a kettle, little one?"

"Piss off Rose. I'm not dark and brooding. I'm quiet and introspective. There's a difference. Anyway, it was more his body language, I guess. When they were all out on the lawn, and Ma and Pa were kissing, Goliath was mock-ralphing and ADHD on crack was dancing around giggling like a maniac. It was weird, but also very family-unit. But Ted was standing well away from them, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched, glaring out from his hair. It's hard to describe. He just seemed separate from them, like he was on his own little planet, and it wasn't a happy place." I shrugged and felt a little embarrassed. I was a people-watching addict. Jazz likes to say it is my way of being part of society without actually participating. I observe and deduct. I don't participate. But I don't usually share my deductions with anyone other than Jazz.

Rose looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "Huh." Then her face cleared and she glanced over at me. "Are we still baking today?"

"Sure," I said, smiling. Baking was something Rose and I could actually do together. I wasn't a fan of much girly shit and she wasn't a fan of much that I found worthwhile. But we both loved to bake.

"Good. I'm sure Mamma will be bringing over a dish to welcome the neighbors properly and all that."

"Oh. Do we need to make an extra batch for her?"

"No, not for _her_." She said stressing the pronoun significantly. I just raised my eyebrow at her in confusion. "6'4" and built like a linebacker? A boy that size needs nourishment, Bella. And it would only be neighborly to join Mamma in welcoming them to the neighborhood." And she gave me such an evil grin that I actually winced a little.

"You're not going over in the bikini, right?" I asked, only half-joking.

She gave me another innocent look. The same look the snake had when he was handing over the apple and saying "Eat up, Eve. It won't hurt you."

"Think it would be too much?" she asked.

"No, Rose. Not too much at all. But, maybe too little," I deadpanned. She giggled, glancing over at the now quiet house across the street. I shook my head. _Watch out, Goliath. David's coming for you with cookies and a teeny-weeny-bikini_, I thought. That poor giant didn't stand a chance.


	2. Chapter 2 Meeting the Neighbors

**Chapter 2 – Meet the Neighbors**

_Edward_

The first week of this new town hadn't been promising, but really I hadn't expected it to be. I never had any real expectations, for that matter. Life hands you a pile of shit often enough, you stop having expectations. At least that way you don't get served a heaping serving of disappointment along with the shit. Still, only one more year and then…then what? I didn't even know. I had never expected to have a future of any sort, now that there was a possibility for one, I didn't have the first fucking clue what to do with it.

I sighed and stepped out onto the patio of my third floor room. It faced the street in front of the house. Not the best view, but at least I had access to the outdoors. And pathetically, I had become somewhat addicted to spying on the neighbors.

It was only 10:30 or so, which meant I still had a little while before I got to watch the nightly comings and goings of the two star-crossed lovers across the street. I breathed in the crisp night air and got comfortable in the lawn chair I had situated in the corner. From here I could observe the neighborhood without being very noticeable myself. My bedroom light was off, so I was shrouded in shadows, which is how I liked it.

I checked my watch and wondered if I was going to see tall and lanky or short and mousy sneaking out tonight. So far, I hadn't been able to make out much of a pattern. Sometimes she came out her front door and climbed the lattice to his window. Other times he came out his window and in her front door. My favorite times were when he was feeling romantic and shimmied up the tree to her window. He wasn't all that good at it, and I kept waiting for the time when he'd fall out and wake up the Chief. I might never be that lucky, but here's hoping. The only thing I had yet to see was an attempt on her part to come down the tree. Of course with her tendency to fall down 20 or 30 times a day, she probably wouldn't risk it.

I stretched a little and leaned my head back to look up at the sky. It wasn't very usual to see the stars here in Forks; most of the time it was too overcast to see anything, even at night. But tonight, I was lucky, and the skies were wonderfully clear, absolutely sparkling with stars. It took my breath away. You could never see this many stars in Chicago; too much smog.

I heard a faint noise and glanced over to the house across the street. I saw her silhouette as she paused in front of the window she had just pushed up, and I realized that it must be his turn to make the climb tonight. I glanced back over to the clock in my room and saw it was slightly after 11. Hmm. They were early tonight, must be feeling eager.

Movement from over to the left caught my eye, and sure enough, there was Romeo striding across the lawn between the two houses. He had a bag slung over one of his shoulders and he went straight to the tree, but instead of starting up, he just waited there. A moment later I saw a pail leg appear over the ledge of the window, and then the long fall of dark hair as Juliet ducked her head down and through the opening of the window.

"Hummingbird, are you sure about this? Maybe it's not such a good idea." He was speaking quietly, but in the silent stillness of the night, his voice carried easily to my ears.

Why the hell did he call her hummingbird? With that hick town accent of his, he sounded like Nick Cage in that ridiculous ConAir movie. Come to think of it, he had long hair like Cage in that movie too. And he was wearing a wife-beater. Ugh. _Where the hell are we living?_

"Well, he's on the sofa, Jazz. Which means he's not gonna wake up and move until 1 or 2. I don't want to wait that long."

_Jazz? What the hell kind of names did these people have?_

"Alright, but I'm coming up there. Don't move." He dropped the bag and shimmied, none to gracefully, up the tree. He got to the thick branch that conveniently ran right alongside her window, braced himself with his back against the trunk and held his hand out to her. She leaned out the window and dropped what looked to be bedding out onto the lawn before gently taking the hand he offered and moving out onto the branch next to him.

Even from here I could see she was nervous out on that limb, and none too steady. Romeo, or Jazz, I guess, got her over to the trunk without her falling and breaking her neck, and then descended slowly, keeping her braced carefully between the cage of his arms and body and the thick trunk of the tree. He dropped from the lowest branch, and then held his arms up to her, gesturing with his hands for her to drop down too.

She attempted it, but must have lost her grip before she was ready, because she fell more than dropped out of the tree. He moved to break her fall, and somewhat succeeded, though he ended up on his ass with her straddling his body.

"Oh my god! Jasper, are you okay? I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" She was trying to get up off of him and check him for injuries at the same time. At least that explained the name Jazz. Still, what kind of parent names their kid Jasper?

His deep chuckle floated across the street, followed by his response. "I'm fine Bella. Don't worry about it. In fact, that went well, all things considered." He got to his feet and held his hand out to her, but she swatted it away.

"Shut up, you ass." She started to get up on her own, but somehow managed to tangle her feet together and trip. He caught her around the middle before she could go sprawling, and helped her straighten up. He stood there looking down at her for a moment, before he started laughing.

She looked up at him, and I thought maybe she was going to swat him again, but then started giggling herself. It was an innocent and happy laugh. Completely free and unselfconscious. It somehow managed to sound intimate, as though it was only a laugh she shared with him, and I suddenly felt both uncomfortable for watching their private moment and more compelled to continue.

They stood there with their arms around each other, laughing in the night air. I really had to wonder about her father. Did he really sleep through all that racket? I would have expected the Chief of Police to be a lighter sleeper than that. Of course, police work in Forks probably didn't require you to be ready for trouble at every moment, after all.

The couple across the street quieted slowly until they just stood there, looking at each other for a moment before he said, "I do love you, hummingbird." Then he kissed her gently on the forehead, then the nose, and then the lips. Just soft, loving little pecks, but as he pulled away, she grabbed his neck and pulled him back down. This time, his lips met hers and tangled with them. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her slim waist. Their mouths angled together in a way that spoke of familiarity, and when his hands slid down to cup her ass and pull her in closer to his lower half, they did so without hesitation, as if he already knew she wouldn't say no.

Just as I was starting to feel creepy for watching, they broke apart, kissing one last small press of lips, before releasing each other. He stepped back from her and bent down to grab his bag and the bedding, but glanced back up at her just in time to see her shiver and wrap her arms around herself. She was wearing just a pair of shorts and a wife-beater like his. Except for the fact that her shorts were shorter, and showed a lot more pale leg, they were dressed similarly. I heard him chuckle and shake his head as he bent back to the bag and pulled out a sweatshirt, holding it out to her silently. She took it and slid it over her head; it fell to below the edge of her shorts.

He grabbed the stuff with one hand and held his other out to her. "Ready for some star-gazing?" He asked. She clapped her hands lightly and bounced a little, nodding excitedly. Then she grabbed his proffered hand, and they disappeared around the side of the house.

I sighed before standing and stretching and making my way back into my room. I wasn't sure why it was that I couldn't seem to stop watching those two. They seemed so absolutely comfortable with each other. They were together all day every day. I saw one of them heading over to the other's house early in the day, not separating and going back to their own home until late in the evening, only to sneak out a few short hours later to be together again. I would have assumed it was just the infatuation stage of a new romance, where you want to be together all the time, except the way they interacted with each other. Even watching from a distance it was obvious that they shared a familiarity that spoke of a long time together.

I could hardly stand to be around my family for more than a few hours at a time. And girls? Well, let's just say it rarely took longer than an hour or two to get my cock sucked or lay some pipe, and by the end of it, I was always happy to get the fuck away from them. Maybe I would feel differently if I ever fooled around with someone that I actually enjoyed talking to, but I almost never found anyone like that. If I did, I wouldn't ruin it by boinking her. It was slightly fascinating to watch these two across the street be together all the time, and still _want_ to be together. I was secretly waiting for it all to blow up in their faces. Or maybe I was just jealous. Nah.

**~~~**

The next day found me sprawled out on the couch with the remote in my hand, mindlessly staring at the TV and some nature show detailing the intricate dance between prey and predator. Alice and Emmett were out back observing the construction of the new in-ground swimming pool Esme and Carlisle were putting in the backyard for us. I heard a knock on the door, but ignored it, figuring that Esme would get it. When it repeated a moment later, I frowned, pushing myself off the couch and ambling toward the door. I ran my fingers through my hair more in annoyance than an attempt to straighten it out, which was a lost-fucking-cause if ever there was one.

The knocking occurred again as I reached for the knob, so that when I yanked it open it was with an irritated expression on my face. People in forks had never heard of patience being a virtue, apparently.

I found myself face to face with the blonde Barbie from across the street. I tried to place her name. Something to do with flowers. Certainly not Petunia or anything. She had come by with her mom last week to "welcome us to the neighborhood." And seriously, if the neighbors around here all came with huge tits, tiny waists, and fuckgood cookies and felt it was perfectly acceptable to greet their new neighbors in a bikini just barely hidden beneath some crazy terrycloth, tube-top dress thingy and sex-kitten heels, then maybe Forks wasn't going to be a such a bad place to live after all.

"Hi! Edward, right?" Barbie asked and I nodded, raising my eyebrow in question as to what she wanted. Really, she wasn't bad to look at, but she wasn't really my type. "I'm Rosalie Hale. Rose, in case you don't remember. I know the introductions were a little hurried last week." She drawled; the perfect picture of the down-home Southern belle.

I nodded again, and then caught movement from the side of the door, where Romeo, I mean, Jasper, suddenly popped into view behind Rose. He was almost as tall as Emmett, which put him a couple of inches over my respectable 6'1". But where Em was all beefy bulk, Jasper was long and lean.

He smiled warmly at me and stuck out his hand as Rose made the introductions. "This is my brother Jasper Whitlock. Jasper this is our new neighbor, Edward Cullen." Despite the fact that I had carried the last name of Cullen for a few years now, it still sounded somewhat strange. It always took me a moment to realize people were referring to me when they called me that.

We shook hands. He had a good shake. Strong and confident, but not indicating any insecurity by trying to squeeze the shit out of my hand. We released our grip and Rose moved over to the side revealing a girl who had been effectively hiding behind her. I immediately recognized her as Juliet, even though I had never seen her other than in silhouette from a distance. I felt my breath stop in my body and for a moment my mind blanked and it felt as though time stood still as I drank her in with my eyes.

She was small. Nearly as short as Alice, which only put her a little over 5'. She looked especially dwarfed standing next to the two tall siblings. Her skin was pale and creamy, despite the fact that I had seen her lying around in the sun repeatedly in the past week. It was almost translucent it was so light, and I could map the faint blue lines of veins moving up her slender neck. It contrasted sharply with the dark mahogany of her hair, which was thick and long, cascading in slight waves to nearly her waist. Her nose was small and button-shaped and her mouth was lush and perfect. The lower lip was fuller than the other, which made it look perpetually pouted. But nothing of that was as startling as her eyes, huge and deep; a brown so liquid it looked like melted dark chocolate. They were almond shaped and lined with thick dark lashes. They were so big in her face and opened so wide that she looked terrified, and yet she stood straight and tall as though nothing ever frightened her. Her posture was so incongruous to the look on her face, I was immediately intrigued by what might be going on behind those eyes.

Her face suddenly flushed pink, turning into peaches and cream, her lips deepening an even darker red. I hadn't realized before now that lips blushed. It made me want to bite them. That thought combined with the flush of her cheeks made me realize I had been standing there staring at her with my mouth open like a complete dumbass for what was obviously an inappropriate amount of time.

I tore my eyes away from the beautiful waif before me, and glanced back at Rose. The way she was looking at me told me that not only had I been caught ogling, but I had been so out of it that I had managed to miss some integral part of the conversation too. _Fuck_. "Huh?" I grunted, and then barely restrained myself from slapping myself in the forehead. Could I look like more of a damn caveman? Christ, what was wrong with me?

"I said, this is our best friend Bella Swan. She lives across the street as well." Rosalie repeated, but I imagine the first time, she hadn't sounded quite so irritated. I narrowed my eyes a little at the protective way she was leaning in towards Bella. I mean I wasn't going to attack her for shit's sake. Although as soon as I thought it, my dick twitched in my pants, disagreeing, and I suddenly became aware of the fact that I was hard inside my board shorts. _What the fuck?_ My hormones weren't usually this out of control, especially with some chick who wasn't even in any state of undress yet.

I cleared my throat and managed to croak out a "Hey" without sounding like a complete assfuck. Her face flushed an even deeper shade of red at the sound of my voice, and I smirked at her without really meaning to.

"Hi. Welcome to the neighborhood." She said in return and I was shocked speechless again. Her voice was unexpectedly deep and sultry and just sexy as fuck. Something you expected to hear in a darkened bedroom and not in the bright sunshine standing in your open front door. Again, completely incongruous with her gorgeous, timid, girl-next-door face. Where did she come from?

"Are your brother and sister around?" Rose asked, effectively nipping what would probably have been another completely inappropriate eye-fucking in the bud.

"Yeah. They're out back. Follow me." I said and turned around to head through the house, relieved to have a reason to look away from Bella. They followed me through the house and out the French doors to the backyard, where there was a crew currently digging up the ground for the pool. The threesome all looked at the construction inquisitively and I shrugged but elaborated. "We're putting in a heated pool out here."

"Oh!" exclaimed that sultry lounge singer voice again, and my dick did another little happy dance in my shorts. "I love swimming. Jazz and I are both on the swim team at school." And she smiled innocently at me, not seeming to notice how my jaw clenched when she said his name. When I heard her call him Jazz, I suddenly realized that this was the same girl I had watched sucking face with Jasper across the street while he groped her ass last night. And though last night I had watched them with nothing more than a slight fascination and morbid curiosity, I was now suddenly pissed-off that he apparently had her permission to touch her like that. I was now regretting not squeezing the crap out of his hand until the bones ground together in my palm when we shook hands earlier, completely ignoring what that might suddenly say about my level of insecurity.

"Yo, Em, Ali!" I shouted and they turned from the lounge chairs they were sprawled across to glance over at us. Emmett's eye's honed in on the blonde immediately, and his signature "babe-killer" smile (his name for it, not mine) lit up his face.

Alice hopped out of her chair, clearly excited by the idea of company, and came dancing over to us at the speed of light. Emmett didn't seem any less eager, but he tried to hide it by wandering over more slowly, clearly not wanting to seem so to Rose. However, I noticed he was standing up to his full height, and slightly flexing the muscles in his massive arms as if on display. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him before I started the introductions.

"Alice, Emmett, this is Rose's brother Jasper and their friend Bella." Rose had introduced her as their friend. Not her brother's girlfriend, which made me wonder if no one knew what was going on between them. If that was the case, why? I caught myself before I could get lost in my thoughts again and quickly finished the introductions. "This is Emmett and his twin sister Alice."

"Twins?" Bella blurted out, her eyes darting back and forth between the giant that was Emmet and the fairy sprite that was Alice.

"I know, right?" Alice giggled. "I still think he absorbed some of my embryo when we were still little globs of cells. They'd probably find extra fingernails or something in his brain if they opened up his head."

"That assumes they'd find a brain at all, Ali." I smirked, and then dodged as Emmett flung out his hand towards my head. He was bigger, but I was definitely faster.

We all kind of looked at each other for a moment, and then Rose cleared her throat and nudged Bella hard, pushing her slightly forward towards us. Bella flamed another impossible shade of red and opened her mouth for a moment before snapping it closed again. What was up with this girl?

She hung her head for a moment, obviously breathing and trying to gather her thoughts. She seemed almost painfully shy, which seemed strange compared to the comfortable way she had blurted out her disbelief at the fact that Em and Alice were twins. Then Jasper stepped up closer to her and slid his hand into hers, causing me to clench my jaw. Darting my eyes away from the site for a moment I managed to catch a glimpse of Alice. Her eyes darted to their clasped hands and widened, before her face took on a broken hearted look I had never seen on her before. But a second later it smoothed away and she was smiling and looking happy again. Had I blinked I would have missed it. _Huh_. Maybe I wasn't the only one disturbed by the love affair going on between these two.

Bella seemed to take some courage from Jasper's hand in hers. She glanced up at him and smiled and then turned back to us. "Um, there's a party at First Beach this weekend. First Beach is down on the Reservation. We traditionally have a party down there on the Saturday before school starts in the fall, which is this weekend, obviously. Anyway, we…I mean I just thought you all might want to come with us. I mean, I know you probably don't know anyone here yet and showing up with Rosie and Jazz could kind of get you over a lot of the first day in a new school awkwardness. I mean, you'll get a chance to meet most of the kids outside of the school environment. And Rose and Jazz are the most popular kids in school, so showing up with them will kind of get you started out on top, you know?" She stopped suddenly, seeming to realize she was kind of babbling and waited for us to respond.

Alice opened her mouth, of course to take her up on her offer, because really, she would never turn up a chance at any social event, but before she could say anything, I blurted out "What about you?"

"What?" Bella asked, looking confused.

"You said Jasper and Rose are the most popular kids in school and showing up with them would get us started out on top, but what about you? We'll be going with you too, right?" I wasn't even sure what I was asking. I just found it disturbing that she seemed to completely leave herself out of the equation.

"Oh, um, I'm nobody." She said quickly.

"Bella," Jasper immediately chided her, but she quickly waved him off.

"Jazz, you know I don't mean I'm nobody. I just mean in the social food chain, I'm not on top of the pile." She glanced away from him and back at me before she shrugged. "Showing up somewhere with me is going to get you jackshit in the scheme of things. I'm just a tag-along." She said it in a completely matter-of-fact way, no embarrassment, no hesitation. And I was again asking myself, what the fuck? I couldn't imagine a universe where this iridescent creature would be nobody.

Alice took advantage of my momentary silence to respond. "Bella, that would be great. That was so nice of you to think of us." And she bounced forward to pull Bella into a quick hug and then bounced back again so quickly that I don't think Bella even had a chance to realize she had been assaulted by a pixie before the assault was already over.

Bella flushed again but smiled and looked pleased by the fact that she had obviously made Alice so happy. I glanced at Emmett and he seemed to be trying not to salivate at the idea of spending time on a beach with Rosalie. He wasn't succeeding very well, but by the way she was eye-fucking him, it appeared that it was mutual, at least. Normally I'm not one for participation when it came to lame-ass high school social events, but I didn't think I could pass up having some time to stare at Bella some more. Even if it meant I would probably be subjected to more PDA between her and the cowboy.

We spent a few more minutes finalizing the plans, mainly listening to Alice quiz Rose on what would be appropriate to wear and deciding Emmett would drive us all down in Esme's Yukon, so that we'd all fit comfortably. Bella stayed pretty much silent for the rest of the conversation, just observing the rest of us quietly with a peaceful look on her face. I noticed that once he didn't need to bolster Bella's confidence or whatever, Jasper slipped his hand out of hers and I was unaccountably happy about that.

They left right after and I immediately went back to my spot on the couch not wanting to listen to Emmett drag on about Rose in a bikini or Alice babble on like the Energizer Bunny on crack about what she was planning to wear and who we might meet. I laid on the couch trying to get back into my nature show and pull my brain away from a certain creamy-skinned waif, trying to ignore the fact that Saturday was just a few short days away.


	3. Chapter 3 Baby Steps

**Chapter 3 – Baby Steps**

_Bella_

Wednesday found me sprawled across the couch at the Whitlock-Hale's, my sketchbook balanced on my legs and my feet in Rosalie's lap where she was painting my toenails a deep red. Jasper was sitting sideways in the chair next to us reading, his legs over the arm, his feet dangling by my head. We had The Princess Bride playing on the flat screen, but were only giving it a fraction of our attention; we had seen it so many times we could quote it in our sleep.

I was working on a doodle of a Rodent of Unusual Size in a top hat and glasses. I was currently trying to add a Charlie Chaplin mustache, but not having a lot of luck.

"So, it's party at First Beach this weekend." Rose said, as she blew on the fresh polish on my toenail. "Are you cooking for us, little one?"

"Sure. Don't I always? I should probably go shopping tomorrow for that."

"Good. I shudder to think of myself having to eat any of Mike Newton's weenies." She smirked at me as I made a gagging noise in my throat.

"Nasty, Rosalita. I so did not need that graphic in my head."

"I second that sentiment whole-heartedly." Jasper agreed without picking his head up from the book in his lap. But Rose just laughed, ignoring us.

"Did you invite the Cullens?" I asked her. We had gotten the full scoop from her after she had brazenly gone over with our chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies and her tiny bikini barely covered with a strapless cover-up. Dr. Cullen – a bona-fide DILF according to Rosalie – was in fact the new ER supervisor. His beautiful wife Esme was a home decorator. They had three children, Emmett, Alice, and Edward who all seemed to be around our age, despite the fact that Alice was so tiny she looked around 12 from a distance. We didn't get much detail on Alice and Edward other than them both being above average in looks, because Rose couldn't shut up about the motherfucking hotness that apparently was Emmett Cullen.

"No. Should I have?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "I was just thinking it would be nice if we invited them to come with us. That way they could meet everyone and maybe make the first day in a new school a little less awkward, you know? I mean, it can't hurt their social status to show up at the party with you and Jazz."

"Yeah. You got that right." She winked at me with a smirk. "Plus, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing that hot piece of ass in nothing but a swimsuit and droplets of water. Yum." She actually licked her lips a little at the thought of it.

I opened my mouth to retort but was really at a loss for words. Rosalie was incorrigible like that. In the end I just shook my head at her and giggled when Jazz made another noise of dissent from his chair.

"Alright, then. Let's go." She pushed my now dry toes off her lap and stood up, stretching her long lean body into a graceful arch.

"Go where?" I asked, confused.

"Next door to invite the new neighbors to the party." She gave me a look that clearly told me she didn't think she should have to explain.

"Go ahead." I responded.

"Um, I don't think so, Bell-bottom. Your idea, you get to give the invite."

"Absolutely not, Rose. I'm watching the movie. And sketching. And you've already met them. They know you now."

She snatched the sketch book out of my hands in a lightning fast move, causing my pencil to leave a dark stripe down the middle of my R.O.U.S.'s belly. Then she grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.

"Now you're not doing anything but sitting on the couch. Might as well head over to the neighbor's with me to extend your invitation."

"Rose- " I started, but she cut me off.

"Don't Rose me. This is a perfect opportunity for you to get yourself into a social situation. Overcome your discomfort and all that." She tilted her chin in that stubborn way she had and I started to feel a little desperate.

"Jasper, help me out here," I implored.

He finally looked up from his book, but from the look on his face I could tell he had been following the exchange. He glanced at his sister for a moment and then held my gaze for awhile as I begged him with my eyes to get me out of this predicament. Then his gaze softened and before he even opened his mouth, I knew I had lost.

"I'll come with you." And he got up and held his hand out to pull me off the couch.

I grasped his hand and took in a deep breath, resigned, but my heart was already starting to pound in my chest. I could feel perspiration starting to form in the valley between my breasts by the time we had made it to the front door.

My reaction to meeting strangers or even talking to anyone who I don't consider family is absolutely horrifying. I've tried to talk myself out of it, but it just doesn't work. The symptoms aren't just mental, they're physical too. I focused hard on my breathing as we made our way down the street to the Cullen's front door, trying to prevent myself from hyperventilating. _God, I fucking hate this!_ It made me feel like such a coward.

We reached the house, and I barely had time to register again how beautiful the house was with all its huge windows and bright, welcoming flowers, before Rose was knocking at the front door.

No one answered right away, and I had a moment to hope for a reprieve. "Shit, looks like nobodies home. We'll have to come back later…"

She turned her head to glare at me, not even wasting a response, and then knocked again. I took my chance to tuck myself in behind her, effectively hiding, and for once I enjoyed the fact that I was so much tinier than her. After another moment without a response, she knocked a third time. I swear she was so determined to have me do this, she'd stand there knocking all day.

"Jesus shits, Rose. Patience is a fucking virtue!" I hissed at her back, but then bit my lip as the door swung open abruptly.

I heard Rose re-introducing herself to the person, apparently Edward, behind the door. I could feel my hands trembling and my breath coming faster at the thought of a stranger right on the other side of Rose. I focused on mimicking her movements to keep myself hidden. Then Jasper was sliding out from next to the door and Rose was introducing him. I knew he did that to give me an extra moment to compose myself, but of course I could have all the time in the world and I still wouldn't be mentally prepared to meet someone new.

Then Rose stepped away from me suddenly, somehow knowing instinctively that I had been hiding behind her and I saw Edward Cullen for the first time. I felt the breath leave my body in a rush and heat like I had never felt spread from the core of my being outward over all of my skin. _Holy fuck!_ I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life, and that was saying something with two best friends like Jasper and Rosalie.

The first thing I noticed was intense, deep green eyes. Eyes the color of a forest bathed in golden sunlight. And behind them a haunting darkness that made me want to reach my hand out and cup his cheek in my palm. I felt like they were seeing straight into my soul. He was slightly shorter than Jazz, broad shouldered, lean wasted. My eyes swept down the tapering line from those shoulders wrapped in a tight, thin black T-shirt to his slim hips encased in faded denim and I had to suppress a shudder. _What the hell is wrong with me? _

I jerked my eyes back up to his face only to become distracted tracing the strong hard line of his jaw, the full, beautifully defined lushness of his lips, his strong cheekbones, skipping over the eyes and getting lost in the bronze, messy, ridiculous sex-hair sticking out of his head in all directions. I suddenly felt light-headed and realized I hadn't taken a breath in too long a time.

I tried to gasp in enough air to keep from swooning like some ridiculous heroine in a Jane Austin story without drawing attention to the fact that I was acting like one. I met his eyes again and felt a motherfucker of a blush suffuse my cheeks, racing down my neck and across my breasts. _Shit on a stick. _He was staring at me with his mouth hanging open like he had never seen anything as foreign as the likes of me. Maybe he was contemplating the possibility of extraterrestrial invasion?

"Huh?" he grunted out, and I had a moment of panic, thinking I had actually said something inappropriate out loud during my blatant eye-fuck. Then drowned in relief as Rose repeated her introduction of me, in a voice more irritated than was called for. She leaned in towards me slightly in a posture I recognized: mama bear mode. She must have noticed his disgusted, fly-catcher reaction to me as well.

"Hey" he said in greeting, and his voice was like nothing I'd ever heard. Deep and low and honey and just pure sex, like velvet sliding over my bare skin. I wanted to hear that voice in the darkness of my bedroom with nothing covering my skin but shadows. _Where the hell did that thought come from?_ I could feel my damnable blush intensifying and I silently cursed my traitorous venous system.

He smirked at me, an uneven turning up of his full lips, and something tightened in a region of my body that usually didn't take part in first-time introductions. At least with my hormones more out of whack than a teenage boy on a deserted island filled with porn, I had somehow managed to forget my anxiety over meeting strangers. I managed to say "Hi. Welcome to the neighborhood" almost like a normal human being. Although after that, I became completely tongue-tied and couldn't have managed to string together two syllables if my life depended on it.

Rose saved the day again, asking where the other Cullen kids were, and we followed Edward's truly amazing ass through the house and out the French doors to the backyard. Rose caught me looking, and gave me a lecherous leer as she waggled her eyebrows at me. I responded with a death glare that would have withered daisies, and Jasper gave us both a questioning look. Then, thankfully, we all got distracted by the level of construction going on outside until Edward explained that his parents were putting in a pool.

"Oh! I love swimming. Jazz and I are both on the swim team at school." I exclaimed, and then barely restrained myself from clapping my hand over my mouth in surprise. Me, the girl turned mute in any social situation, suddenly had diarrhea of the mouth. _Jesus shits, what is happening to me?_

Edward just looked at me, his jaw clenching, before whipping around and hollering at his brother and sister to come over. Apparently he wasn't any more of a fan of my case of oral Hershey squirts than I was.

Then we were surrounded by Cullens, and Edward was introducing the Mike and Ike act as twins, Emmett and Alice. _Twins? _And in true fashion of my newly discovered, brain filter-lacking self, I blurted out "Twins?" like a fool. But Alice just laughed and assured me it wasn't just me who was caught unawares by this fact with some crazy twin-eating tale as she giggled and rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. She was tiny, shorter than my 5'3" by a couple of inches, and built like a waif. Her skin was lighter than mine, almost alabaster, in stark contrast to the jet black hair sticking out artfully from her head in little spikes. Her grey eyes sparkled and shone with an inner light. The energy poured off her in waves, but somehow seemed to pull you into her.

I had been so busy observing Alice, that I missed a comment Edward made that I assumed was directed at Emmett, because he just barely managed to evade a swipe of Emmett's massive paw. Had I not been used to the human mountain that was my friend Jake, I may have been intimidated by his size. As it was, it was easy to look past his giant body to the warm brown eyes, huge dimples, and wavy dark hair. He looked like a big teddy bear. You just wanted to cuddle him. And Rose was right, he may not have anything on the magnificence that was Edward, but he was hot.

Then Rosalie cleared her throat and nudged me – hard – effectively shoving me forward towards the siblings. _Bitch._ I spared her a glance to let her know I was not at all happy with the situation, but then looked back at the small audience now staring at me expectantly. I opened my mouth to invite them to First Beach with us, but my throat closed off and my mouth went dry. _Shit. So much for babble-doll Bella._

I hung my head, just to escape looking at them all for a moment, and tried to steady myself by breathing. It wasn't working. Then I felt the warm calm of Jazz beside me a second before his hand slipped into mine, and the panic eased slightly. I took one more deep breath before raising my head, giving him an appreciative smile. I looked at all of them without really looking at any of them, a trick I had learned through the years. I managed to get out what had to be the most confusing ramble of an invitation in the history of spoken language before I snapped my lips closed again, realizing belatedly that I had somehow managed to include my ridiculous reasoning behind the invitation. As if this unnaturally beautiful family would need any help fitting in? _Hello Bella, my name is Reality. We've never met, but it is surely wonderful to make your acquaintance now._

"What about you?" Edward asked.

"What?" I responded, confused. Honestly, I wasn't sure exactly what all I had managed to say in my little impromptu speech.

"You said Jasper and Rose are the most popular kids in school and showing up with them would get us started out on top, but what about you? We'll be going with you too, right?"

_Ah._ The boy was swift. Of course he would see the flaw in my brilliant plan and worry about what it would do to their reputation if they showed up with me in tow. Couldn't say I blamed him, but he didn't realize that I was like Rose and Jasper's shadow. Or maybe a fart one of them squeezed out of their perfect, teenager-worshipped asses. People noticed the unpleasantness, but it was something they were willing to withstand in order to be around greatness. I tried to reassure him. "Oh, um, I'm nobody."

"Bella," Jasper immediately chastised, but I waved him off, realizing I hadn't explained it very well.

"Jazz, you know I don't mean I'm nobody. I just mean in the social food chain, I'm not on top of the pile." I looked back at Edward and shrugged. "Showing up somewhere with me is going to get you jackshit in the scheme of things. I'm just a tag-along."

He looked like he might have something to say to that, but the twirling dervish suddenly bounced forward and hugged me, dancing back again before I could respond, and thanking me as though I had just promised her my first born. I couldn't help but smile at her obvious happiness.

Then there was talking and planning about vehicles and wardrobe and I was wonderfully able of slink back into the outskirts of the conversation where I felt safest, observing rather than participating. We left shortly after, saying goodbye before making our way back through the house and out the way we had come. As soon as we were back on the sidewalk, I slid back into the comfortable skin I wear when I'm with my family with a sigh.

"Well?" Rose demanded.

I looked at her and smirked. "Holy freakishly-hot family, Batman." I said and she laughed, throwing her arm around my shoulders and walking me back towards their house and The Princess Bride. Only instead of Wesley's blue eyes staring out from the TV through the holes in his mask, I was suddenly seeing stunning green ones.


	4. Chapter 4 Beach Party USA Part 1

**Chapter 4 – Beach Party, USA Part 1**

_Edward_

Saturday morning found me shotgun in the Yukon, while Emmett drove us across the street to Bella's house, Alice bouncing around in the middle seats. Surprisingly the morning bloomed beautiful and sunny, despite two days of ceaseless rain. I was both anxious and nervous to see Bella again. I had thought of her way more than I should have in the past few days, and I'd be kidding myself if I didn't admit that the thought of her in a bathing suit hadn't led to more than a few extra long shower sessions. _Definitely more than a few. You haven't jacked your shit this much since discovering Hustler in junior high, _my snide mind-voice reminded me. However, the thought of spending the day with her in a bathing suit with her boyfriend, Jasper, was the quickest way to deflate any unwanted boners.

I had almost decided to beg off the party today, but Alice would be pissed and Emmett would know something was up if I passed up free beer. Plus, I think he was counting on me playing wingman so he could score with Rosalie. Not that he'd need it. I'd seen the way she'd been looking at him when they came over the other day. It might be that Emmett had finally met a female version of himself. _God help us._

They apparently made a whole day of these annual beach parties, so they got started pretty early. It was only 11:00 when we pulled into Bella's driveway, alongside a red truck that was old before I was even an itch in my bastard father's pants.

Bella was sitting at the top of her porch steps, and she stood up as we pulled in. She was dressed conservatively – compared to Alice – in old cut-off jeans and a T-shirt that read "Brunettes Get Better Grades" across her chest, but I could see the tie of a swimsuit peaking up at the back of her neck and my formerly loose board shorts suddenly became slightly uncomfortable. This did not bode well for the rest of the day. _Hopefully they start serving alcohol immediately._

We came to a stop at the top of the driveway and all started climbing out of the car. Bella stuffed her hands into her pockets and hung her head, glancing at us shyly through the thick lashes that framed her eyes. She was obviously uncomfortable without her posse to back her up.

Emmett, completely unfazed by anyone else's level of comfort, hollered "Hey Bells!" as though they had known each other forever, and Alice echoed a joyous "Hi Bella!" right after.

Bella's face turned red, and she pulled one hand out to do a half-hearted wave while mumbling quietly "Hi Emmett, Alice." She glanced over at me as I came around the front of the Yukon, and her face turned impossibly redder. I got a nod and a murmured "Edward," before she came down the steps to meet us.

Emmett glanced around before asking, "Where's that beautiful neighbor of yours Bella?"

"Oh, um, Jazz should be heading over any minute." She deadpanned. Emmett looked at her, shocked and more than a little horrified until she started giggling softly.

Emmett bounded towards her, mock outrage on his face. "You think that's funny little girl?" he asked before grabbing her and tossing her over his shoulder. She shrieked and I noticed I had instinctively moved forward to tear his fucking hands off of her before I had realized it. He started whacking her on her cute little ass and spinning her around. "Who's funny now? You should be careful who you pick on, tiny. Might want to go after someone your own size next time."

Bella continued to shriek a little, but it was mixed in with deep, throaty laughter that surprised the shit out of me and made my dick twitch a little. "Put me down, you oversized buffoon," she responded before reaching into the back of his shorts, grabbing the band of his underwear and yanking with all her might.

"Ahhhh! Fuck, Bells!" Emmett hollered, dumping her back on her feet and hopping around while trying to dislodge his briefs from his ass. "That was totally uncool. Do you know how long it's been since someone's given me a fucking wedgey? Christ, I think you tore the elastic off."

Bella smirked. She fucking _smirked_ at my bear of a brother towering over her after just having shoved her hands down his pants. She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side with a slight shrug to her shoulders. "Should have worn boxer-briefs. They're much sexier anyway." And then she _winked_ at him. Just a wink, and my dick stood at attention like a good little soldier, and I'd never been so happy to be a boxer-brief man. But wait, w_as she fucking flirting with him? _My blood fucking boiled and my hands balled into fists.I don't know what I might have done just then, but I was saved by making an ass of myself by the arrival of Rosalie and Jasper sauntering across the lawn between the houses.

"What's much sexier?" Rose asked curiously.

"I was just telling Emmett that boxer-briefs are sexier than regular briefs," Bella replied innocently. There was suddenly no trace of the flirty, sassy girl who'd been standing there winking at my brother.

Rose looked at her oddly for a second before responding nonchalantly, "Actually, as long as they're not white, I like briefs better." Emmett's face broke into a huge smile because, as we'd all just witnessed when Bella had given him the wedgey from hell, his briefs were navy blue. "What the hell are you smiling at?" Rose asked, easily wiping the smile off his face.

"Nothing. Just excited for the party," Emmett answered, turning towards Bella's pile on the porch. I caught site of Bella's knowing little grin and was even more perplexed. She was obviously wise to the fact that Emmett had taken a shine to Rose. _Maybe she wasn't flirting with him._ The voice in my head suddenly sounded a bit hopeful and I mentally shoved a sock in that shit.

After much strategizing by Jasper and a bunch of barked orders from the little pixie general, we finally managed to get the huge pile of crap that Bella had packed into the back of the Yukon. I didn't think anyone would over-pack worse than Alice – she had packed a bag that she could probably have curled up and napped in – but I was wrong. However, where Alice probably packed enough outfits to change every 15 minutes like some crazed Oscar host, Bella had apparently packed enough supplies for all of us to survive for years on a deserted island. I don't know if that girl had ever been a Boy Scout, but if not she should sign up to run that damn organization. She was nothing if not prepared, and young adolescent males would probably come running to join after seeing her in one of their little uniforms, all curves and creamy skin.

Finally we were all settled in and on the road, with me again riding shotgun next to Em, Alice and Rose in the middle seat, and Jasper and Bella sitting in the third row behind them. Despite really not wanting to see them get cozy with each other in the back of the vehicle, I kept a fairly close eye on them through the review mirror. I needn't have worried. Other than the fact that Bella turned sideways and stretched her legs across Jasper's lap, there wasn't any inappropriate cuddling going on back there. They both stuck their respective noses into books and ignored the rest of us. Alice and Rose seemed to hit it right off, somehow managing to discuss their entire lives in the twenty minutes it took to get to the beach, even with Rose pausing now and then to give us directions to La Push, a Quileute reservation where the beach was located.

We followed a path of tire tracks through trees before it opened up to sand and water. Emmett pulled up into the sand next to a couple of other vehicles and turned off the car as we looked out the windshield at the beach.

La Push was huge and secluded, surrounded by water, woods, and cliffs. It had a bit of an untouched feel. There were no benches or picnic tables. Just beach the way beaches were before man came along. There were quite a few other kids spread out along the sand, laying on towels or blankets or sitting in folding chairs. We could see a large fire already started in a fire pit halfway down the beach.

We all piled out of the vehicle and began unloading the back, piling all the supplies on the ground right behind the Yukon as Bella tried to organize it. She was in midsentence, telling Emmett which coolers held lunch, snacks, and drinks respectively, when she was interrupted by an extremely loud, deep, masculine voice.

"Hells Bells!"

We all turned around to see three large boys heading towards us. I'm not sure what they put in the water here in the reservation, but they certainly grew 'em big down here. The one in the middle was the only guy I'd ever seen who was bigger than Em. At least 6'6" and built like he lived his life in a gym, not quite as bulky as Emmett, but seriously ripped. He was dressed in a pair of ratty old cutoff sweats and nothing else, his long black hair pulled back. He was flanked by two other Native American guys. Not quite as tall, more my height, but also muscled and lean. They were all smiling at us, but the guy in the middle had eyes only for Bella.

I caught a quick glimpse of her huge smile in return as she rushed past me with a shriek of "Jacob!" before she threw herself into the giant's arms. He picked her up easily, swinging her around while still moving towards us. I realized that my jaw and fists were both clenched tight, seeing her in yet another guy's arms, and I snuck a quick glance at Jasper to see how he was taking this development. But instead of seeing a mirror of my own reaction, Jasper was relaxed and grinning at the group coming towards us.

As they neared, Jacob finally released Bella, and she was immediately swept up by the guy on Jacob's right and then passed off to the third guy after a moment. I could hear her soft voice asking how everyone was, and the deep rumble of the trio's replies.

The reached us with Bella pulled tight into Jacob's side, his arm around her shoulders and hers circling his waist. "Jazz man, how ya doing?" Jacob asked as he extended his hand out to shake, while Rose moved forward to hug one of the others. I didn't miss the frown on Emmett's face when that happened.

"Jacob. Good to see you, man. It's been awhile."

"Yeah, too long man. Too long."

Jasper moved on to shake hands with the other two, and the three of us kind of hung back as the group shifted from one to the other in greeting. Finally, Jasper turned around and motioned to us before beginning the introductions.

"Hey guys, I want you to meet our new neighbors. This is Emmett, Alice, and Edward Cullen. They just moved in across the street from Bella and Charlie. This group of delinquents is Jake, Quil, and Embry. They're friends from way back."

We all said hello and there was another round of hand shaking. I forced myself not to squeeze the hell out of Jacob's hand, but it was difficult as he still had Bella wedged under his arm and she was still smiling happily up at him. I began to wonder if I needed to reevaluate my assumption about the nature of her and Jasper's relationship. Maybe they weren't exclusive? That might be good for me. _Ha! Then you'd have to share her. Really think that's going to work? _

I tried to ignore my inner tormentor and focused back on the conversation going on around me.

"Bells. Please tell me you brought enough food for us." Jacob was saying to Bella.

She laughed quietly and shook her head as she extricated herself from his armpit. "Well, I brought enough to feed a small village, so hopefully y'all brought your own lunch as this will certainly be just a snack for you. Now earn your keep and grab some coolers. Let's go cop a squat."

The next few minutes involved us moving all our equipment down the beach and setting up in the sand. Bella had blankets, towels, chairs, and even an umbrella that stuck into the sand. Emmett had fun spearing that into the ground; I would have enjoyed it more if he hadn't missed his foot by mere inches.

Embry tried sneaking a peak into the various coolers and Bella repeatedly shooed him away as he pouted and bemoaned the fact that he was wasting away. I noticed a group of two girls and three more guys heading our way from down the beach, and I had a tense moment wondering if I was going to have to witness another loving greeting with Bella and the group before they started waving and calling out to Jasper and Rosalie. None of them even acknowledged Bella, which seemed strange to me. Maybe they hadn't seen her?

"So, Bells." Jacob said, pulling my attention away from the approaching group.

"Yeah, Jake?"

"This year is the year." He was smirking at her.

She raised an eyebrow at him, skeptically. "Is it now?"

"It is. I have a feeling."

"Is it the same feeling you've had every other year? Because if memory serves me, those feelings didn't pan out the way you thought they would."

"Nope. Completely new feeling this year. That's how I know that this is my year."

"Uh-huh." It was hard to miss the sarcasm. I noticed that Emmett and Alice looked just as confused as I felt, but the rest of the group was watching the exchange with wide grins.

Before I could ask what the hell they were going on about, Emmett did it for me. "What the fuck are you two jabbering about?"

It was Jasper who answered. "Every year Jake challenges Bella to a race." Emmett and I both eyed Bella next to a much longer-legged Jacob, and Jasper didn't miss the skepticism. "Not that kind of race. It's a swim race, out to that buoy." And he pointed to a red buoy bobbing a good distance out from the shore.

"And every year, Bella schools him, Embry, and Quil without any difficulty whatsoever." Rose piped in with a smirk that Bella returned with an impish grin. I looked over at Bella again and had to admit it was difficult to believe. She was just so much smaller and frailer looking than the three large boys standing around her.

"But not this year." Jacob responded with confidence. "This is my year."

Bella sighed, but was obviously suppressing a grin. "Well, there's only one way to find out, now isn't there?" She asked. "Or do you need a chance to warm up with a few laps first?"

"Nope. No warm up needed here." But he started swinging his arms and rolling his shoulders while Embry and Quil peeled off their shirts.

Emmett, who couldn't be around any form of physical competition and not partake, moved up to them. "So, all we gotta do is get to the buoy first?" And he yanked his shirt over his head.

All three boys looked over at him and smiled. "It's farther than it looks, dude." Embry responded.

At that point I stopped hearing the conversation around me, since Bella had just pulled her shirt over her head and was sliding her cutoffs down her legs. Her bathing suit was a deep blue one-piece, but it was low cut in the back and tied behind her neck, exposing what seemed like an endless expanse of pale creamy flesh, interrupted only by a tattoo of what might be a bird high up on her back between her shoulder blades. My mouth went dry and I tried to get a closer look at the tatt as she moved closer to me and turned around in front of Rose, conveniently pulling her hair up off her neck. It was a good sized rendering of a hummingbird, fluttering over a bell shaped flower with the words _Perseverance Strength Determination _written in elaborate script beneath it.

"Rosalita, can you do something with this mop?"

"Sure kiddo." Rose replied and started plaiting the thick strands into a long braid at the back of her head. She leaned in close and whispered quietly, "You get 50% of anything I win."

"That's not necessary Rose, as you already know."

Rose finished the braid and Bella moved down the beach to join the boys at the edge of the water. Her small frame looked even tinier next to the brawn of those four animals. It made me feel strangely, protective? I shook my head trying to dislodge the unusual feeling and noticed we had been joined by the group I had noticed approaching earlier.

The girls were medium height, maybe 5'5" or so. One had long, curly, dirty-blond hair. The other's hair was darker, long and straight. They were both pretty in an I-work-really-hard-at-looking-like-this sort of way.

"They racing already?" one of the boys asked. He looked very all-American, blue eyes and blonde hair in a contrived faux hawk. "I think Jake might actually have it in the bag this year." He commented and was met with a very unlady-like snort of disbelief from Rosalie.

"I don't know, man. Bella wins every year." This from a boy with black, greasy hair hanging shaggy around his face. He was sporting a bad case of acne, which might have been helped by a more regular hair-care routine.

"Dude" Mr. All-American replied, "Look at Jake. I think he's put on another 3 inches this year and even more muscle. He's fucking huge. His arm span alone is longer than Bella's whole body. He's definitely gonna win this year."

"$50 bucks says Bella's sitting on the buoy before any of the guys even reach it." Rosalie said.

"No way. I'll take that action. Even if she wins it won't be by that margin."

"Mike, the arm span doesn't matter if you don't know what you're doing with it." Jasper reminded in a quiet voice.

"Jasper man, I'm with Mike on this. She might win, but it won't be by that much. I'm in." Zit-face piped up.

"Yeah, I'm in too. Hope you brought enough money with you Rose." Said the third boy.

Suddenly Alice piped in. "I'm in too. I'm betting for Bella." I quirked an eyebrow at her, but she just smiled and shrugged. "Rose is confidant."

At this point Jake turned back and hollered in our direction. "Hey Rose, give us a count off, will ya?"

They were lined up on the beach, Bella looking tiny with two giants on either side, dwarfing her. Rose's clear voice cut through the gentle breeze and the other kids on the beach stopped to check out what was going on.

"On your mark! Get set! GO!!!!" Rose hollered, and all five of them were off.

The boys all bounded through the shallow waters, trying to take advantage of their longer, stronger legs to no avail. Bella took only a couple of steps, and then just as her feet touched the water her legs tensed, knees bent and her body sprang forward in a beautiful low, flat dive that took her into water deep enough to begin stroking. I could see her feet kicking almost before she hit the water, and when she came up with her arms already drawing back in a smooth, graceful stroke she was already ahead of any of the guys around her.

Watching Bella in the water was like watching poetry in motion. Her slim body made almost no disturbance in the water around her. Her strokes were perfectly arched and graceful and seemed to stretch farther in front of her then their size should have been capable of. Her head remained in the water, only twisting slightly to the side every 2 or 3 strokes to expose enough of her mouth to pull in a breath. Her speed in the water was nothing short of amazing and it didn't take long to see that none of the men in the water with her had a chance at winning this thing.

The three newcomers surrounding us began to grumble and holler at Jake or the other guys to "put some back into it" as though they were trying to chop down a tree instead of race a 105 pound girl through the waves. Beside me Jasper let out a quiet chuckle.

"Newton, when are you gonna learn? On dry land, Bella might be as awkward as a fish out of water, but in it she's as graceful as a-"

"Swan," Rosalie cut in, smirking at Mr. All-American.

At this point, Bella reached the buoy. She hoisted herself up on top of it and turned around, crossing her legs demurely just as Jake and Emmett reached it simultaneously. Embry and Quil were seconds behind them. I heard more than a few shouted expletives by both the boys in the water and the ones looking down at Rosalie's and Alice's seeking palms.

"Pay up, boys!" Rosalie demanded and Alice giggled next to her.

I heard a shriek out in the water and turned my head just in time to see Jake standing on the buoy tossing Bella into the water. The five of them swam closer to the shore where they could stand and began throwing Bella back and forth amongst them while she screamed, cursed, and laughed loudly.

"You wanna go toss the football?" I looked next to me to see Jasper standing there with an old worn football in his hands. I wanted to hate him, simply because he had the right to touch her while I didn't, but the longer I was around him, the more I felt at ease with him. He exuded a calm and content atmosphere that seemed to saturate everything around him.

I shrugged my shoulders, planning to say no on principle. But when I opened my mouth I was surprised to hear myself say "Sure."


	5. Chapter 5 Beach Party USA Part 2

**Chapter 5 – Beach Party, USA Part 2**

_Edward_

By late evening, with the sun just sinking below the horizon, I found myself surprisingly relaxed and as content as I get. My skin felt tight with sun, sand, and salt and my muscles felt well-used. I was fairly astounded at what a good time I'd had, given my dislike for people in general and kids my age in particular. Yet here on the beach, surrounded by them, I had managed to forget myself and have a good time, a feat nothing short of miraculous.

Playing catch with Jasper had turned into a no-holds-barred football game, during which I managed to tackle both Jacob and that Mike douche. Jacob had just been a lucky hit required by the game. Mike, on the other hand, had just made a really inappropriate comment about a certain part of Bella's anatomy while she was bent over trying to straighten the blanket she'd been laying on. The game play probably hadn't required me to put him in the sand, but by that point we were all so pumped up with testosterone and competition, no one seemed to think anything of it. Though I'm pretty sure I caught Jasper giving me a slight nod out of the corner of my eye. I don't know if Mike caught on or not, but he didn't say anything else about Bella after that, though I saw him checking to see if she'd been watching whenever he made any good plays. Bella seemed completely oblivious to the attention, or even the game for that matter. She spent the time either reading, scribbling in her ever-present notebook, or listening attentively to the conversations going on around her, none of which she seemed to participate in. Not that I was keeping tabs on her or anything

The game got called as a tie, mainly because Jake and Emmett claimed they couldn't go on any longer without sustenance and after a quick dip in the water to cool off, we all broke into our respective groups to eat. Glancing around the crowd, I saw most of the kids eating what you would expect teenagers alone on a beach to eat – chips, sandwiches, hotdogs grilled on sticks. Our group, on the other hand, ate like royalty. Because Bella can COOK. We had fried chicken, ham, homemade potato salad, fruit salad, coleslaw, and apple pie. Anything I could think of that I might want to eat was somewhere tucked into those coolers. When Bella first opened them all and started pulling out food, I think my eyes might have bugged out at the shear enormity of the amount of food she'd brought. I looked at Emmett, and he seemed to be looking at Bella in a whole new light. Had he not been so infatuated with Rose's tits, he might have professed his undying love just then.

"You cooked all this?" He asked.

"Um, yep." She responded modestly with a shrug. "I like to cook."

"Will you marry me?" He asked, awestruck.

She answered with a blush and a giggle. "You might want to taste it first."

"Well, it smells fucking delicious!" he exclaimed, and promptly grabbed a chicken leg and took a huge hunk off with his teeth, groaning orgasmicly. Then there wasn't much conversation at all, just scrambling for food and the appreciative sounds one makes when devouring a fan-fucking-tastic meal.

Which brought us to our current position: lounging around on our blankets with full bellies, watching the sun slowly setting over the ocean. It had started to cool off with the disappearance of the sun, and most of the girls had run off to the woods to change into long pants and sweaters. Bella had opted to just pull a large hoody over her swimsuit and cover her legs with an extra blanket.

There wasn't much sound from our little group as the sun finally sank fully below the horizon. There were soft discussions from Rosalie and Alice and loud and raucous noises from the rest of the kids spread down the beach, but the scene was mostly restful and relaxing. It had been a long time since my mind was this quiet, and I allowed myself to enjoy it while it lasted.

I laid back and rested my head on my folded arms, tipping my face up to the twilight sky. I caught Bella looking at me closely as she scribbled away in her notebook, but I closed my eyes against her scrutiny, not wanting to think about anything – not even the delicate beauty leaning her back against Jasper's chest an arm's length away.

It seemed I had only closed my eyes for a moment, but then Emmett was shaking my arm, saying "Hey Edward, come on. We're moving down the beach. They've got the bonfire going."

When I opened my eyes, I saw that full dark had fallen and the majority of our gear had been packed up. I looked down the beach and saw a huge fire going in a big pit some distance away. I pulled myself up, shaking my head a little to wake up, and folded the blanket I'd been resting on, stacking it on the pile already formed next to our coolers.

I followed the others down the beach to the fire, where most of the other kids had already formed a large semi-circle around the tall flames. I glanced around to where Bella was sitting across the fire from me. There was a space big enough for one between her and Jacob on a length of log, but before I had a chance to start towards it, Mike plopped down in it, sitting much closer to Bella than the open space called for. I ground my teeth slightly in irritation, even more when I heard a breathy female voice say, "Oh, Edward. There's room over here." It was the girl with long straight hair that I'd met earlier – Lindsay? Laura? Lauren? – _yeah, that was it_.

I wanted to say no, but a quick look around the fire showed that it was really the only option left to me, so I made my way over and plopped down, careful to keep some space between us. At least this spot gave me a good view of Bella, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable sitting so close to Mike. He kept leaning into her and speaking quietly. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but Bella didn't seem too keen on his choice of topics. She kept leaning away from him, staring intently into the fire as though hoping if she didn't look at him he might disappear.

I looked around for Jasper, hoping he might come to her rescue and get her away from the slimy little fucker, and was surprised to see him sitting a short distance away with Alice. I don't think he even noticed Bella's situation; he was staring intently at Alice, completely enthralled with whatever drivel she was spewing.

"So, where are you from, Edward?" I vaguely heard Lauren ask, and I wondered if this was her first attempt at conversation. I may have successfully tuned her out during my scrutiny of the Bella/Mike situation across from us.

"Chicago," I answered shortly, hoping to dissuade her from any more conversation. _I need more beer_, I thought to myself, and was embarrassed to realize I had said that aloud when the curly-haired girl responded quickly by leaning past Lauren to hand me one.

By now, Bella had scooted so far down the log that she was in danger of toppling off the end. And still Mike was leaning into her, babbling up a storm. I shifted in my seat, ready to do I don't even know what to remedy the situation, when finally Jake threw his arm out, catching Mike in the chest and tossing him backwards off the log. Then he leaned over Mike's outstretched legs, grabbed Bella by the upper arms like she was no bigger than a toddler and picked her up, depositing her on his other side between himself and Quil.

I breathed a small sigh. I wasn't real happy with the new seating arrangement, but it was a huge improvement over watching her obvious discomfort while being accosted by Mike. I pondered my uncharacteristic response to this girl. It wasn't just the possessive feeling. That might not be usual, but it was in-line with my personality. It was this more disturbing protective urge I seemed to have around her that was completely out of character for me. I have already proven my complete inability to protect those I love in my life. If I tried with this delicate, fragile girl it would certainly end in tragedy as well.

"So, do you miss Chicago, Edward?" Lauren asked me, effectively derailing my train of thought. It was a pretty good question. Did I miss Chicago? A little, but I didn't really care where we lived. My problems were the kind that I couldn't leave behind me, no matter where I went.

"Um, not really," I mumbled.

"It must be so boring to be in Forks after Chicago," she continued.

I shrugged noncommittally. "Chicago's not that great," I responded absently, watching Bella carefully removing a toasted marshmallow from a stick as she smiled at Jake. She held it out to him and he grabbed it from her hand with his mouth, sucking on the ends of her fingers as he did so. She scrunched up her nose and laughed, smacking him lightly in the chest.

"She's such a fucking tease," Lauren hissed in my ear, and I realized her eyes had followed mine to Bella and Jake across the fire. I cocked my eyebrow at her inquiringly. "All the guys are always panting after her; she's such a flirt. But when it comes down to it, the only one she ever puts out for is Jasper." She tried to sound disgusted, but it came out more jealous than anything. "It's not cool to make a guy think they're gonna get something out of you and then try to act all innocent about it when it comes time to give up the goods." She looked at me all wide-eyed, clearly letting me know she'd never do such a thing.

_Yeah, I get it Lauren. You'll blow me later if I want you to. Thanks for clearing that up for me._

I just shrugged again. "None of my business," I told her, and that seemed to satisfy her. At least she shut up for a few minutes after that. I sipped my beer and stared into the dancing flames, watching the way the colors snapped back and forth between red, yellow, and orange. I was pondering what Lauren had said about Bella. She actually didn't seem like a flirt to me at all. From what I had observed she was really shy and reserved. She certainly had a high level of comfort with Jasper and Jake and the other Quileute boys, but she wasn't flirty. She was completely guileless in her interactions with them, like she felt she was just one of the guys. If she was at all aware of her effect on the opposite sex, she certainly hid it well. _Why am I obsessing over this girl?_ I actually shook my head, like I could shake thoughts of her right out of my mind.

I felt Lauren's hand slide over my forearm before she spoke. "Do you want to go for a walk down the beach?" she asked.

I opened my mouth to reply with a definite No, but was distracted when I saw Bella stand up across from me.

"Where you going, Hells Bells?" I heard Jake ask.

"I'm gonna go for one last quick swim." Her voice was quiet, but I could still hear it. Then Jasper was popping up from his place next to Alice, who looked a little crestfallen at his sudden departure. He moved over to Bella as they started towards my side of the fire, closest to the water.

"I'll go out with you, hummingbird."

"That's ok, Jazz. I'm fine by myself."

"I know you are. I want to come."

She gave him a pointed look, and I got the feeling she was telling him something without speaking out loud. "You should stay here," she said pointedly. _Hell yeah, you should_.

"It's dark out there," he responded, stating the obvious.

"I like swimming in the dark."

"I know. So do I." And this time it was him giving her the pointed look. She sighed heavily and shook her head a little.

"Alrighty then." She turned and started down the beach. He fell into step beside her reaching out to take her hand in his.

"Edward? Did you want to go for a walk with me?" Lauren asked again.

My eyes still on the couple walking hand in hand towards the water I responded, "Sure."

~0~

Sadly, Lauren's skill with her mouth was not such that it was able to distract me from the fact that Bella was out in the dark water with Jasper. Lauren had wasted no time guiding me to the edge of the forest. And I had wasted no time telling her that I don't date. If she wanted to fool around a bit, that was fine, but I didn't want her getting the wrong idea. I'd been as blunt as I possibly could be.

"I'm not going to call you. We're not going to go out to dinner or hold hands in the hall on Monday. I'm not going to be your boyfriend. Are you cool with that?"

"Sure," she responded, already reaching for the tie to my board shorts.

I caught her hands and tried to find her eyes in the dark. "Are you sure? I don't want there to be any misunderstanding here, Lauren," I told her seriously, because I'm a dick, but I wasn't about to lead this chick on.

"Of course. Give me some credit here, Edward. I know the score." I looked at her for a second longer then dropped my hand from her wrist. I'd told her the layout, if she had unrealistic expectations at this point, that was on her.

I gazed out at the water while she pulled me out of my shorts. I wasn't even at half mast, but that didn't seem to dissuade her. Her warm mouth closed around me and I groaned out loud. Every once in the while the moon would slip out from clouds and shine down on the water. I could just make out two round shapes bobbing around a ways from the shore. I thought about Bella's white skin against the deep blue of her swimsuit, wet and goose-pimpled from the cold water. My dick hardened almost instantly and Lauren hummed in appreciation. The vibrations felt good, but now that I was hard, she didn't seem to know what to do with all my cock.

She bobbed up and down at the tip, leaving the rest of the shaft out in the cold air. We might be here forever if I didn't help her out a little. I wrapped my own fist around the base, trying to match her erratic movements. The little round heads out on the water were right next to each other now, the absence of space between them making them look foreign.

I closed my eyes, blocking out the sight of them and tried to picture myself out there in the water with Bella. I imagined the cold water all around us and the contrast of her hot hand wrapped around me. I thought of the smile she had when she fed the marshmallow to Jake directed at me from inches away in the water. I thought of the sharpness of the dark ink on the creamy skin between her shoulder blades. I thought of the way her suit clung to the round, plump mounds of her ass, and I pumped a little harder, thinking about what they would feel like in my palms. And then I was groaning. "I'm cumming," I managed to blurt, suddenly remembering that the warmth on my cock was actually Lauren's mouth.

She popped right off and did a hilarious duck and dive maneuver to the side. I might have laughed out loud if I wasn't busy with my impending orgasm. She didn't even offer to finish me off, just got out of the line of fire and let me pump myself to completion. I finished up and tucked myself back in, as she got up off her knees.

She reached her lips up to my face, but I managed to turn my head a fraction so her kiss landed on the corner of my mouth. "Thanks, Eddie. That was fantastic," she simpered at me. _Was this chick for real?_ It was pretty obvious that she wasn't really enjoying it, and I ended up doing most of the work. But, still, she did let me put my dick in her mouth, so I really shouldn't complain, even if the whole experience had left me somehow feeling empty.

I pressed a quick kiss to her neck. "Thank _you_," I told her as I moved around her to head back to the fire. "But don't call me Eddie."

~0~

We got back to the fire just as Bella and Jasper were returning from their swim. Bella had thrown on some sweats and the hoody and I could see the outline of her swimsuit as a wet stain on the material. She was shivering and hunched in on herself. She stopped next to Jake and he slid off the log her was on, repositioning himself in front of it on the sand. He spread his legs wide, grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down into the space between them. She curled up into a ball on her side, her head resting on his thigh and he snapped a blanked out over her, tucking it in around the edges of her body.

Jasper resumed his spot by Alice, who stopped talking to Rose long enough to beam at him. Quil stood up then and deposited a guitar in Jasper's lap. "You're gonna serenade us, right J?" He asked.

"Sure."

Jake nudged Bella with his thigh. "You gonna sing for us, Bells?" He asked her. She looked up at him incredulously, but didn't answer.

"Bella can sing?" Curly-haired girl asked, seemingly astonished.

"No."

"Yes." She and Jake answered at the same time. Then Jake scoffed. "Bells is always singing. She used to sing me to sleep when we were still babies."

"If she sings so well, why isn't she in choir with us?" Lauren asked, snidely.

"I don't sing well," Bella responded quietly and I realized that was the first time all day I had heard Bella speak directly to any of the kids outside her own little circle of friends.

"What the fuck, Bella?" Jake snapped. Then looked over at Lauren. "Bella sings beautifully. She sings with Jasper all the time."

"Oh, well. By all means then Bella, wow us with your musical talent." Lauren was being so derisive that I kind of wanted to punch her in the mouth. Of course, thinking that made me remember what I had done with her mouth not long before, and then I felt a little ashamed. I made a mental note to make sure a girl wasn't a raging bitch before I let her go down on me.

Bella was looking a little panicked. She glanced over at Jasper, who then piped up. "Bella only sings with me in private. I don't like to share her with the crowd, Jake. You know that." He winked at Bella and she gave him a small smile in return. "I'll play some things that everyone can join in on." Then he started strumming the guitar lightly, stopping to tune it a little before jumping right into California Dreaming.

Not everyone knew all the verses, but enough did and everyone joined in on the echoes and the chorus. Jasper was pretty good and the number of songs he seemed to know was endless. He played a couple more songs; then took a few requests. Before I knew it an hour had passed in relative peace. Everyone was busy either singing along, listening, or staring quietly into the fire, so I didn't have to endure any more conversation attempts from Lauren or anyone else. That suited me just fine.

At a gap between songs, Jake said "Jazz man, your girl is sound asleep over here," motioning down to Bella still curled up between his legs.

Jasper glanced over, then looked to the rest of us. "She's probably totally wiped. She was up really early this morning cooking. You guys want to head out?"

We all made signs of assent and then moved across the beach, gathering up all the supplies and storing them back in the Yukon. Just as we were finishing up, Jake came over carrying a still sleeping Bella in his arms. Jasper hopped into the middle seat and Jake handed Bella to him. We all said our "goodbyes" and "nice to meet yous" and then Emmett and I climbed into the back row of seats. Alice was our designated driver and Rosalie had called shotgun earlier in the evening.

The ride back to town was quiet. We were all tired from our long day and we sat in relative silence, just some soft music playing from the speakers. It seemed like no time had passed at all and then we were pulling up into the Swan's driveway.

We started piling out of the car, Emmett reaching in to help Jasper maneuver out of his seat with Bella in his arms. As I was starting towards the back to unload, the screen door of the house opened up and a man I presumed to be Bella's dad stepped out. He was tall and quite fit. In the light from the porch, it appeared he shared the same dark hair and eyes Bella had, but then the similarities ended. While Bella was small and unassuming, her father was big and formidable. I could see how that would come in handy in his line of work.

He looked us over closely, then peered at Jasper and Bella. "You kids been drinking, son?" He asked and my jaw nearly hit the ground when Jasper responded in the affirmative.

"Yes sir. Just a few beers."

Chief Swan nodded at Bella. "Bella been drinking?"

"Nah. She's just exhausted from the long day. She fell asleep around the fire a little over an hour ago."

"Who was driving?" He asked gruffly.

"I was!" Alice piped up, waving at him from over the roof of the car. She must have been standing on the driver seat to be able to reach above the Yukon.

Chief Swan pinned her with a severe stare. "Who are you, exactly?" He asked.

"I'm Alice Cullen," she replied jovially. She pointed over at me and Em. "These are my brothers Emmett and Edward. We're your new neighbors across the street." We both gave little nods in the Chief's direction when his attention turned to us.

He looked back over at Alice. "You have anything to drink tonight, Alice?"

"Nope. I was designated driver. I don't have a very high tolerance for alcohol, due to my small stature and all," she giggled back. I was still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that we were being honest about our underage drinking with the Chief of Police.

"Well, Jasper, you best bring Bella up to bed before you drop her. The rest of you can unload everything onto the porch. Just leave it there tonight and we can get it all cleared up in the morning." He held the door open for Jasper and then followed him back into the house.

We got to work emptying the back of the Yukon. Once Bella's dad was out of earshot I leaned into Rosalie. "The Chief of Police is ok with us drinking?" I asked incredulously.

Rosalie shrugged at me. "Charlie's pretty down to earth. Technically we were on the Rez, so he doesn't really have much jurisdiction. But there is an unspoken agreement that as long as no one drinks and drives, he lets us be. I think he realizes that kids are going to drink. He just doesn't want to have to come scrape any of us off the pavement. So, we've kind of got the understanding. And not much gets by him. He'd know if we were driving. Last year Newton had a party and a few kids drove off wasted. Charlie was there within 30 minutes. He busted the party up and slapped quite a few kids with MIPs, then threatened Mike's parents with charges of contributing to the delinquency of minors even though they weren't home. I think Mike was grounded for three months and there were tons of kids working off community service for awhile. Needless to say he got his point across."

I shook my head, still kind of dumbfounded. I guess this was life in a small town. I heard the door open and looked up to see Jasper coming back out to help us finish unloading. Just as we were depositing the last of the coolers on the porch, Charlie stepped back into the doorway.

He looked down at Jasper, who was standing at the base of the stairs. "You get Bella all settled in?"

"Yeah Charlie. She's all tucked in for the night," Jasper answered casually.

Charlie looked at him for a minute longer, as though debating his reply. Then he sighed audibly with a hrumph and a pull of his mustache. "Well if you're going to stay the night I expect you to leave her bedroom door open. And use the front door for God's sake. I'm tired of checking for your dead body under her window every morning!"

He turned around and stomped back into the house. The door had slammed behind him before Jasper managed to get his mouth closed long enough to utter a quick "Yes sir." I guess nothing much does get by The Chief.


	6. Chapter 6 Saying Goodbye

Chapter 6 – Saying Goodbye

_Bella_

I slowly became aware of the fact that I was no longer at the beach. Instead I was nestled on my side in my bed, facing the window. Jasper was curled in tight behind me, his body shadowing my own. I sighed in contentment and his arm tightened around me. I would surely miss this, more than anything else.

I could tell by his breathing that he wasn't asleep yet, so I rolled over to see his face. He smiled gently at me and reached his hand up to smooth my unruly hair back from my face. I smiled back, but quickly became distracted by the sight of my door standing open. My eyes got wide and shot to his face. "The door's open!" I hissed urgently. How could he not notice when he came through the window?

"I know." He was way too calm. "You're not going to believe this." His voice sounded strange, like he couldn't decide if he found whatever it was he was about to tell me hilarious or terrifying. "Charlie knows."

"Knows what?" I asked in dread.

"He knows that I sleep here…all the time."

"What?" I was embarrassed to note that my whisper came out more of a shriek than anything else.

"He told me to just use the front door. He's tired of checking under the window every morning for my carcass." Jasper snorted, but I wasn't sure if it was because of Charlie's admonishment or his lack of faith in Jasper's tree-climbing skills.

"How long has he known?" I cringed, thinking about breakfast in the morning with my father.

"Who knows?" Jasper answered with a shrug. "Knowing Charlie, he's probably known from the beginning."

"How is that possible? Surely he would have put a stop to it long before now, Jasper. There's no way the Chief would be alright with his teenage daughter having a gentleman caller for the night."

"Gentleman caller," Jasper snickered and I jabbed him in the ribs with my finger.

"Shut it. You know what I mean."

"I don't know, Bells. All I know is that the man knows. We've probably been pretty arrogant not to have suspected it before this. I mean, nothing gets past him Bella."

I was silent for a bit, just letting all that sink in. Was it possible that Charlie had been turning a blind eye to my nightly indiscretions? Why? Jasper and I had grown up together, and there had been plenty of sleepovers when we were younger. Usually it was Jasper, Rose and I all together, though Jasper and I always ended up curled around each other while Rose slept separately. Even as a child Jasper would gravitate towards me in the night, calming my distressing nightly dreams with his presence. Eventually though, the parents put a stop to the slumber parties. That decision coincided with our movement from innocent children to pubescent teens. That was also the same time that Jasper and I got pretty adept at climbing my tree. So, about 3 or 4 years. Charlie had been ignoring Jasper in my bed for 3 or 4 years? I couldn't believe it.

Or could I? I thought of the few nights when I had slept in this bed alone for one reason or another. Invariably I awoke in the night, drenched in sweat, the blankets tangled around me, screaming for my mother or some other loved one. And on those nights, Charlie would come bursting through the door in a panic, still clad in his boxers, his hair standing in all directions, ready to fight my demons. Only he couldn't. There was nothing to fight. So, he'd just cradle me and shush me and try to hide the huge sadness in his eyes. I couldn't see Charlie condoning Japer and I sleeping together in normal circumstances, but if it meant me actually getting some peace each night? Oh hell yes. To get me through the night unscathed, Charlie would do much worse things than allow a boy he trusted to hold me in his arms. He might not have been able to verbally give his approval, but he would certainly pretend ignorance.

I was forever underestimating Charlie's love for me. Then he would do something to show his devotion in his quiet way and the realization would slap me upside the head, leaving me reeling with it and feeling undeserving.

"Charlie loves you," Jasper said, once again reading my mind. "There isn't much he wouldn't do for you. We're similar like that. It's why we get along so well. And probably why he's allowed it. I wouldn't try sneaking Mike Newton or Tyler up here, Bella. That could get ugly."

"Ugh, Jasper. Don't make me scream for Charlie. I'm pretty sure he'd put a bullet in your ass first and ask questions later if I cry for help while you're in my bed."

Jasper laughed, but then we just lay quietly for a bit. Jasper and I didn't need to fill the silence. We'd known each other too long for that. I knew there were things we needed to talk about tonight, but I wasn't ready for that yet. I'd seen the way he looked at Alice today. I knew that the relationship Jasper and I had grown accustomed to was ending. I was okay with that even if it did make me a little sad.

But, after tonight I was going to miss a lot of the intimacies that Jasper and I shared, and though the sexual aspect of our relationship wasn't at the _top_ of the list, it was _on_ the list.

I got up from the bed and padded over to my open door. Standing still and quiet, I cocked my head to the side, listening intently. In a moment, I could make out the faint sound of Charlie snoring on the other side of his closed bedroom door. I silently closed my door and moved back to the bed. Pulling off my clothes, I slid back under the covers naked. Watching me, Jasper sat up and pulled his tank over his head, dropping it over the side of the bed. There was some rustling under the covers as he slid out of his shorts and then he was pulling me to him, his hot skin pressed against mine.

I buried my nose in the curve of his neck and breathed him in. There was no describing his scent. Just warm and home and safe and _Jasper, _mixed tonight with the smell of sun and sand and ocean. He smelled like summertime. I sighed softly before pulling back, and then his mouth was on mine, gentle and warm.

I opened up to him and his tongue slid in and mingled with mine. He wrapped his arms more tightly around my waist and rolled slightly so that he was partially on top of me, his thigh pressed between my legs. I grabbed his upper lip with my own and sucked a little, dragging my teeth across it as I released him, causing him to grip my ass with one hand and push me harder against his thigh. I could feel him hard and hot against my stomach and I grinned a little into his mouth.

I felt his smile in response, before it was replaced with more slow kisses that went on and on. Languorous tongue and soft presses of lips. He slid his tongue down my neck and then used teeth in the junction of my neck and shoulder, just where I liked it. "You taste like summertime," he whispered, echoing my earlier thought. It really was like we were one being sometimes. I pulled the lobe of his ear into my mouth and tugged at it, before flicking my tongue into his ear. And then it was Jasper and me, playful and loving and as comfortable as a favorite pair of sweats.

When his finger slid into me, I hummed in contentment and wrapped my hand around him between our bodies. He grunted quietly, his face pressed against my neck. "I love how wet you always are, hummingbird," he whispered reverently into my skin. He slid out of me and swirled his finger up higher and I arched off the bed. I was close already, but I slid my lower half away from him, not ready to have it end yet.

He looked at me questioningly and I whispered "I want to taste you," as I started sliding down his body.

His hand caught my hip swiftly, halting my progress. "Turn this way. I want to taste you too." I smiled into his chest, because that's what I wanted as well, and Jasper always knew just what I'd want. I sat up and flipped over, turning on my side to face him. He rolled towards me and propped himself up on one elbow to look at me. I watched him from below as he slid his hand down my side, dipping into the curve of my waste and then back up, his hand slowly hiking the hill of my hip, his eyes following the progress of his fingers. When he reached my thigh, he pulled his palm up, now just his fingertips trailing along my skin, gliding behind my knee and up my calf to my foot where it rested on the pillow. My eyes slid closed and a shiver raced down my spine. Jasper's lips turned up at the corners at my response.

Not to be outdone, I flicked my tongue over the tip of his erection, tasting the salt of him. He gasped and gripped my leg hard, pulling my knee towards him. I slid my tongue over him again, slower this time, wetting the length of him as he lifted my leg up and slid his head over to rest on my lower thigh.

This 69 business was something fairly new for me and Jasper. We'd had a few mishaps before we finally got it right. The first time was a near disaster. After some discussion, we'd decided on him being on top. It seemed to be alright until he shifted and his balls hit me in the forehead, which made me laugh out loud. That was a problem, because I already had him in my mouth and laughing made my throat relax and open up, allowing him to slide so deep into my throat that he was in danger of lodging in my vocal cords. I gagged, understandably, but the convulsions of my throat around his cock felt really, really good – to him – and he was really close to prematurely busting his nut before he registered my hands shoving at his hips to get free. He shot off me so fast that he fell out of bed as I rolled to the edge, sputtering and gagging and trying desperately not to upchuck all over him. When I'd finally calmed down and flopped backwards unto my back, he leaned over me in concern. I'd looked at him for a second before accusing, "Dude, you totally T-bagged me!" And then we were both laughing and covering each other's mouths, afraid that Charlie would hear. I was pretty certain he wouldn't find the idea that Jasper had slapped me in the head with his nut sack nearly as funny.

So after some false starts, we realized that lying on our sides like this was the most comfortable. We both had room to maneuver and it just felt like equal ground. And that was us. I realized with a start that it wasn't just the sex that I'd miss. It was the little things, like laughing together over an unsuccessful first 69. Or maybe I'd just miss the closeness that allows us to laugh over something that would leave most kids our age dying from embarrassment.

I felt Jasper's tongue sweep the length of me, and I focused back on the task at hand. And then there wasn't any thinking at all, just the feel of his tongue and lips on me and my mouth on him. I slid over the edge first, holding him in my mouth as I quivered and quaked, trying not to clamp my thighs too tightly around his head. After I came down, I turned my attention to him fully and soon he was shifting his hips back and forth, urging me to go faster and harder until he was gripping my thigh in his hand and gasping my name as I swallowed him down.

We lay quiet for awhile in the afterglow, each of us using the other's thigh as a pillow, before I slid back around and cuddled into his frame. He kissed my forehead and ran his fingertips up and down my back, stopping to trace the slightly elevated lines of my tatt.

I knew the time had come to let him go. I was probably even a bit selfish to have put it off until now, but I wanted to be with him one last time, knowing it was the last time. I wanted a chance to memorize the feel of him on me and around me and in me, before I let him go.

I pulled back enough to look at his face and smiled at him. "So, Alice, huh?" I asked. The smile that lit his face made my heart swell until I felt it might explode with happiness.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" He asked in wonder.

"Yeah, she is. She's pretty perfect for you."

"Do you think so?" He sounded a bit uncertain, which was so unlike him I had to snicker a little.

"I think so. And by the way she was looking at you all day, she thinks so too."

"Yeah?" And he smiled again. "I'm not quite sure what to do, Bella. I've never even asked a girl out on a date before."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Jazz. Just be yourself. Get to know her a little. I can guarantee she will say yes to whatever you ask her. She'd be a fool not to."

He smiled at me and pecked me on the forehead again. "I'm really nervous. But excited too. It's weird. Like a butterfly convention in my belly whenever she's around. I'm not sure if I'm gonna break into song or puke on her." He laughed.

I laughed too. "Try not to puke on her. Or do. That would make for a pretty good first date story."

We smiled at each other for a moment and then his eyes narrowed at me. "What about you?" He asked.

"What about me?"

"What about you and Cullen?"

My face flamed red. He probably couldn't see it in the dark of my room, but I wouldn't be surprised if he felt the heat radiating off me. "I think you're talking to the wrong girl, Jazz. It's Rose that's got a thing for Cullen."

"I'm not talking about Emmett, Bella, as you know perfectly well."

"I know nothing. I admit nothing."

"Bullshit. I've never seen you look at a guy like that before."

"Like how?"

"Like the way you look at chocolate."

"How the hell do I look at chocolate?"

"Like you'll die a happy woman after one bite."

"I don't look at Edward like I want to bite him, Jasper. And one bite of chocolate is never enough," I huffed.

"Exactly! You look at him like you want to eat him. For dessert. And come back for seconds."

"Pfffshhh." I sputtered, unable to form any type of coherent response to that. Edward was beautiful and all, but so far out of my league it wasn't even fathomable.

"Pfffshhh? That's your response?"

"I don't know how else to respond. You're being ridiculous."

"Alright. If that's the way you're going to play it. I'll enjoy making you eat your words later." He grinned smugly as he trickled his fingers down my side. I gasped and tried to push away from him, but he only held me tighter and dug his fingers in a little deeper. "Quiet, don't want to wake Charlie," he admonished while tickling me mercilessly.

"Jasper, stop! Please!" I choked, trying not to squeal. He finally relaxed his fingers and pulled me in for a hug. I hugged him back before sliding out of bed to pull on a tank top and boxer shorts. I tiptoed over to the door and reopened it. When I slid back into bed, he'd pulled his night clothes back on as well.

I curled against his side and sighed. "I'm going to miss this," I whispered quietly.

He tipped my head up to look him in the face. "Hummingbird, I'm still going to be here for you. Always. I'm not going to be able to slap you in the face with my balls anymore, but are you really going to miss that?" He asked with a smile. I giggled a little, because he must have been thinking about that earlier as well.

"I don't mean all that. I mean, I'm going to miss being with you like that, but that isn't what we're about, you know?" He nodded to me, because he understood. Jasper and I were best friends. He was my savior and my co-conspirator, my playmate and my confidante. He was the one who made me laugh and wiped my tears away when I cried. He was many, many things to me, all of them more important than being my lover. It had never really been like that for me and Jasper. We fooled around and we enjoyed it, but we had gone through puberty together – in the same bed almost every night. Neither of us had ever had a significant other. It was only natural that we would experiment and develop our sexuality together. But in reality, it was much more common for us to curl up in bed together and talk for a bit before falling asleep. What happened tonight was more the exception than the rule.

"Bella, we're still going to be us. You're always going to be my best friend. I'm always going to be here for you and you're always going to be there for me. That part isn't going to change." He repeated firmly.

"I know that. But I will miss this," I said, wrapping my arms around him and squeezing him for emphasis. Then I pulled back and smiled at him. "But, it's high time I learned to sleep alone, anyway. In fact, it's probably way overdue." I gave him a brave face, but inside I was more than a little scared. Sleeping with someone curled around me kept the nightmares away. It didn't actually have to be Jasper, but who else would do it?

Jasper furrowed his eyebrows at me. "What are you talking about? I'm still going to sleep with you. It's just going to have to be PG again."

"Jasper," I admonished, exasperated. "Of course you're not going to sleep here with me anymore. You can't be with Alice and still sleep curled up with me," I told him reasonably

"I'll explain it to her, Bella. She'll understand."

I huffed at him. "She won't understand, Jasper. And even if she did, it wouldn't be fair to ask her to." He opened his mouth to argue, but I covered it gently with my hand. "Even understanding us the way I do. Even knowing that we will never touch each other inappropriately again and that it won't even be hard for us to keep to that rule. Even knowing all that, I wouldn't put up with it from a boyfriend, Jazz. And Alice shouldn't have to either." I told him firmly.

"But how are you going to sleep, hummingbird?" He asked, and his voice had a rawness to it that I couldn't mistake. This was the crux of the issue for Jasper. It wasn't that he didn't want to give this up. It was that he was worried about me. Jasper has been taking care of me since we were seven years old and he takes that job very seriously. It truly goes against his nature to do anything that he thinks will impact me negatively.

"I'll sleep a lot better, knowing that you've found a girl that makes your eyes light up and your belly fill with butterflies." He gave me a disbelieving snort and I rolled my eyes at him. "I might not sleep more peacefully, but I'll be able to look myself in the mirror every morning, and that's a lot more important to me than getting adequate rest."

His eyes softened as he gazed at me. He looked sad and so full of love for me that it stung my eyes a little. He kissed me again on the forehead before resting his own against mine. "I love you, hummingbird," he whispered against my face.

"I love you too, J. I can't tell you how happy I am that you've found Alice. I can't wait to see you in love and shining with it." I meant that completely. Jasper's heart was no small trifle. I'd been waiting patiently for a girl to come along who was worthy of it. Jasper seemed to think Alice was that girl, and I tended to agree with him. Jasper loving someone with his whole self would be an amazing thing to witness, and I'd have a front row seat.

We laid in silence then, and I eventually assumed our sleeping position, rolling over unto my stomach with my leg drawn up and bent at the knee. Jasper shifted to lie partially over me, his body a shadow of my own. Our position kept Jasper's weight from smothering me, but enough of it pressing down on me that I would feel it in my sleep. That's what I needed to keep the dreams away. I lay awake like that until I felt Jasper's breaths on my neck become even and deep, indicating his descent into sleep. I soaked in the feel of him behind me, reveling in this last night of safety until my eyes got heavy and began to close. As I drifted off, I opened my mouth one last time and whispered into the dark.

"Goodbye, Jasper."


End file.
